Trump Favorability: Stable Overall, Divisions among Groups (POLL)

A notable aspect of Donald Trump’s candidacy is the stability of his ratings in recent months, with no apparent impact of the various controversies he’s inspired. But some of the differences among groups are striking.

As we noted last week, Trump’s support for the GOP nomination has been steady in three ABC News/Washington Post polls since September – 33, 32 and 32 percent, respectively, among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who are registered to vote.

Among all Americans, Trump’s favorability ratings tell a similar story: Again an essentially unchanging number – 59 or 60 percent – have expressed unfavorable views of him in ABC/Post polls in August, September and November alike. Thirty-five to 38 percent have rated him favorably.

That said, there are big differences – and some shifts – among groups.

The gender gap is vast: Trump has been seen more unfavorably than favorably by men by 10- to 14-point margins since late summer. Women, by contrast, rate him unfavorably rather than favorably by much wider margins, 29 to 39 percentage points. In the latest such measure, in an ABC/Post poll Nov. 8, 33 percent of women saw him favorably, 64 percent unfavorably.

Whites divided about evenly between favorable or unfavorable views of Trump in August and November, with a more negative result in September. Nonwhites’ opinions have been starkly different. Eight in 10 Hispanics have rated him unfavorably consistently since summer. There’s been somewhat more variability among blacks, but still with sizable majorities – from 68 to 81 percent – rating Trump negatively.

Among partisan groups, 69 percent of Republicans rated Trump positively earlier this month, a new high for him. But 80 percent of Democrats and 62 percent of independents saw him negatively, making for another dramatic division.

As noted in our last analysis, anti-immigrant views and desires for a political outsider have been Trump’s jet fuel. Regardless, his appeal, as these results show, sharply divides demographic and political groups alike.